Nancy Astor

Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor (19 May 1879-2 May 1964) was the Conservative MP for Plymouth Sutton from 28 November 1919 to 5 July 1945, succeeding Waldorf Astor and preceding Lucy Middleton. Astor was the first woman to be elected MP in the United Kingdom.

Biography
Nancy Witcher Langhorne was born in Danville, Virginia, United States on 19 May 1879, and she came to the United Kingdom on marrying Waldorf Astor, who was elected as an MP for Plymouth in 1910. When her husband succeeded to his father's peerage in the Hosue of Lords in 1919, she stood successfully as the Conservative Party candidate in his place, becoming the first woman MP in Britain. She was a strong advocate of temperance and appeasement, but her support for feminist causes wavered at times. Her witty comments, such as her statement, "I married beneath me, all women do," led to verbal battles with Conservative leader Winston Churchill, and she represented Plymouth in the House of Commons until 1945. She died at Grimsthorpe Castle in Lancashire, England in 1964 at the age of 84.